Where to find non-Vietnamese books in Ho Chi Minh City?

Reading seems to be a fantastic idea for anyone on the road, especially those who need to reach their own corner of peace in the soul after getting their feet weary. Such lively and hustle of a metropolis as Saigon will sometimes ignite your need of a serene vibe. If you are about to finish your South Vietnam culture tour, follow our advice to claim your favorite book!

Boa Bookstore – A lovely little hide-out

Boa Bookstore is a brainchild of two book lovers whose passion is to bring a good place filled with English and French books to the local community in Saigon. Located in an old apartment, this lovely little corner is such a hidden gem. Boa offers a wide range of English books categorized in various genres such as teenage-oriented books, romantic, fictional, novels and so on. 50% of Boa books are completely new while the rest is precious titles collected within the previous year. Furthermore, Boa founders are aiming at hardly-found genres and limited editions with a view to meeting specific needs of Boa fans.

Book Nest – An innovation in the industry of reading and sharing

Book Nest was founded by a journalist whose dream is to open a place for story lovers. Coming at Book Nest, you will be amazed at how enormous the shop is, with full of diversified titles. Book Nest is flush with the aroma of books, whose papers are dyed in the nostalgic vibe of time and placed in vintage shelves. You would be fully satisfied when spending a short moment hiding in this lovely hide-out and getting drowned in the old rhythm from an old cassette. Occasionally, Book Nest is organizing several events such as a workshop or an exhibition. Another interesting bonus is “Lost and Found” program in which visitors are about to note down their beloved lost items and placed them in a trunk. Book Nest would get to find all these and put them back in the previous trunk.

Where to find?

Road 11, Phú Nhuận District, Hồ Chí Minh City.

Inside Book Nest Saigon (Source: Google)

Fahasa – The king of Vietnam bookstores

Established back in the year 1976 and still ranked as one of the top listed bookstores all over the country. Not only well-known nationwide thanks to a massive archive of updated domestic books, Fahasa serves its repeated customers with a broad range of non-Vietnamese books such as those published in English, French, Japanese and the list goes on. Books of all type can be found here. Apart from bestseller genres such as novels, Fahasa is offering academic-oriented publications, especially test prep books. This giant bookstore is also filled with stationary and toys. However, Fahasa even gets more love as there would be a reading lounge. There are over 20 stores belonging to Fahasa Company across the locality of Saigon, and here are where you possibly find a huge range of English books:

60 – 62 Lê Lợi Street, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City.

40 Nguyễn Huệ Street, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City.

387 – 389 Hai Bà Trưng Street, District 3, Hồ Chí Minh City.

Fahasa Bookstore on Nguyễn Huệ Street (Source: Google)

Nam Phong Library – Where French soul is preserved

Last but not least, Nam Phong is a must-visit venue for travelers taking a short break in between their South Vietnam culture tours. Nam Phong Library was open back in December of 2002, with a view to preserving the French-Vietnamese cultures that still exist in the history of Saigon. Basically, Nam Phong Library is the most ideal site to buy French books of all genres, from novels to comic books. Nam Phong Library is offering more than 7500 books in French, both new and old, for your selection. Native readers fancy Nam Phong given a feedback as a cozy and comfy place to come.

Where to find?

82 Trương Định Street, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City.

Nam Phong is definitely a must-visit site (Source: Google)

In case you have no time to come over in an offline bookstore yet still aspiring one saved for your free time later, here are some trusted Websites for your consideration:

With all those online bookstores above, switch the default language from Vietnamese to English and feel free to get the ones you favor!

As mentioned, our four recommendations below are listed as our locals’ favorite destinations when a dream of a non-Vietnamese book comes around. If you are about to sign up for a South Vietnam culture tour and still get stuck in a mess of ideas on what to do once your tour is over, do not hesitate to reach these places out and you will never be disappointed.